Description of the Related Art
Electronic commerce, colloquially known as e-commerce or e-business, includes the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. While a significant percentage of the growth in e-commerce in recent years has involved virtual goods and services, most electronic commerce still frequently involves fulfillment of an order through the transportation of physical items in some way and an accompanying financial transaction. In the majority of e-commerce transactions, the purchase transaction is ordered or agreed electronically and interactively in real-time and subsequently completed with the delivery of a physical package containing goods.
The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown rapidly with widespread Internet usage and has further increased with the proliferation of mobile computing devices capable of accessing the Internet. Such mobile computing devices include laptop computers, tablet computers, and handheld telephones.
In today's environment, however, merchants have separate payment processors for their ecommerce, retail stores and mobile sales channels creating silos of information and disjointed customer experiences. There are significant technology roadblocks in the journey to omnichannel commerce. These roadblocks, or friction points, can hamper a merchant's ability to deploy new sales channels; reach new and existing customers with relevant, effective promotions and offers; and ultimately expand their businesses. In other words, these friction points can prevent a business from operating smoothly and reaching its full potential.
These friction points include finding a single payment service provider to process payments across multiple channels. Today, many merchants must rely on separate payments providers for their in-store, e-commerce and mobile sales.
These friction points include managing product inventory across all channels of commerce.